"President."
As soon as Nan Yi finished talking to Pu Lan on the phone, Han Zhenhe came to his study.
"Zhen He, has the plan come out?"
"It's already out. After our discussion, we finally came up with a more feasible plan. President, please take a look." Han Zhenhe unfolded a folder and placed it in front of Nan Yi.
Nan Yi lowered his head and read the contents of the document carefully from beginning to end, then closed the folder and looked up and said, "Do you mean to learn from Richemont's model and establish a group that operates multiple luxury brands?"
“Yes, President, it takes a long time to build a top luxury brand. First of all, the identity of the brand founder needs to form the brand gene that customers are the best of the best. This is the core value of luxury brands.
People plus tools equal tools. No matter how much wealth and power a person has, if he does not feel served in his life, he will not be able to feel his own value.
Because humans are social creatures, they crave for this kind of value of dominating others, which also means dominating other people's time. Objectifying this value is luxury goods, and the vast majority of luxury brands emphasize artificial production.
The inventor or designer of luxury goods, that is, the founder of the brand, must have a very high status, usually a royal craftsman or someone with outstanding achievements in craftsmanship and art.
This identity gene represents that the people who serve customers are outstanding, and the high base point of price comes from this.
President, a luxury brand must be positioned at this height from the beginning, rather than climbing slowly from low to high. Our Swallowtail Butterfly’s initial positioning determined that it had no chance of becoming a luxury brand.”
When Nan Yi heard this, he frowned and thought to himself, "It feels so bad to be rejected in person."
“It takes time for a luxury brand to mature and its founder needs to have considerable fame and achievements in the art, design and craftsmanship. Depending on the product field, it takes 15 to 150 years to take shape.
More than 95% of the luxury brands on the market today have accumulated value through the relay of several generations. An ordinary person with mediocre artistic talent is unlikely to create a luxury brand even if he has a lot of money. "
Nan Yi: “…”
“President, the development model of the Nanchen Wine Industry you established in China is very good. Nanchen Wine is also a luxury brand. It is not as good as Moutai now. When it is not recognized by the public, it is necessary to establish a pricing system.
That is, a product represents a certain amount of money, so the pricing of the product must be adhered to and can only be increased but not decreased. The second thing is to get more customers to buy it and let more customers agree with the brand's pricing and price increases.
A luxury brand can be likened to a stock, and the customers are the shareholders. The more shareholders are willing to pay a high price to buy stocks and are willing to accept the price of the stocks, the higher the value of the brand and products will naturally be. This is the essence of luxury sales.
Using the recycling model of famous cigarettes and famous liquors to raise the value of Nanchen Liquor is a good idea..."
Nan Yi waved his hand and said, "You mean, if I build a luxury clothing brand, it will never grow to the level of luxury under my leadership?"
"President, forgive me for being blunt, but with your low-key work style, you are not suitable to be the owner of a luxury brand," said Han Zhenhe.
"I know this. Building a luxury brand from scratch has become my obsession. I may not personally stand at the front desk, but it must be my brand." Nan Yi paused and said, "I preliminarily agree with your plan. The initial acquisition targets are France's Lanzi and Belgium's Delft?"
"Yes, these two brands have very good market share and brand influence in the field of leather goods and luggage, and the cost of acquiring them will be relatively low, and the probability of successful acquisition will be relatively high."
"Well, make a detailed plan in three days and then submit it to the Intelligence Committee for review."
"Okay, President."
Han Zhenhe nodded excitedly. This was the first project he had participated in from scratch since he became Nan Yi's secretary, and it was also a project he was in charge of.
Nan Yi found it a bit ridiculous. He had been thinking about luxury brands from the very beginning, but he had always been careless. But now, because of the Dharavi slum project, he has really pushed forward the road of luxury goods.
That’s fine. If you can’t invest in Richemont, just build your own Richemont.
Nan Yi walked out of the study and was about to go out to satisfy his gun craving when the school beauty came to him with a phone in hand.
"Whose?"
"Mrs. Liu."
Nan Yi took the phone from the school beauty and said into the receiver, "President Liu, do you have any instructions?"
"It's Xiaowei's birthday, and Sister Meifeng invited us to her house to have some fun."
"What's going on?"
Nan Yi knew that Wu Renpin and his wife were both low-key people and would not go to such great lengths to celebrate their son's birthday.
"How long has it been since you last contacted Wu Renpin?"
"It's been about eight or nine months. He's busy and I'm busy too. It's not very convenient to call him."
"He will be demoted soon."
"Oh, which people are you going to serve?"
"Go to Fengtian Steel West District."
"Deputy District Chief?"
"How is that possible? His rank is not high enough. He is the deputy director of the Economic Development Zone Management Committee."
"You didn't even get a regular job?"
"It's already pretty good. I went down wearing a hat. You should understand what Sister Meifeng means. Do you want to come back?"
"What day?"
"It was Xiaowei's birthday."
"I will go back to the capital directly, and you take Wu Weiwei up with you."
"Okay, hang up, someone's knocking on the door."
"goodbye."
"Campus belle, check when is Wu Xiaowei's birthday." After hanging up the phone, Nan Yi said to the school belle.
Nan Yi did remember when Wu Renpin's birthday was, after all, they had celebrated it together. But how could he possibly remember Wu Xiaowei's birthday? His name was just hidden on a long list, and Nan Yi didn't need to worry about the annual etiquette.
The school beauty called and told Nan Yi that the date was "October 15th".
Nan Yi thought that there were still about ten days left, so it would be enough to set off in a week.
One day, Nan Yi was sitting by the Peacock Lake again, disassembling an Asani MKI semi-automatic pistol. This was a pistol developed by India itself. Although the research and development funds were spent on the appearance and the internal structure was still based on Browning, it was still self-produced and worthy of recognition.
This gun is very popular in the Indian civilian market, and many women in wealthy areas carry one in their bags.
A few days ago, there was a news story in the newspaper saying that two gangsters followed a woman who had just got off a car. When they were about to do something bad in an alley, the woman pulled out a gun and shot, accurately killing the two gangsters' "criminal motives" while leaving other areas unscathed.
Nan Yi bought a gun after reading it in the newspaper. He wanted to see what kind of magic gun could achieve such a result.
After disassembling the pistol, Nan Yi squinted his eyes and glanced into the barrel, then cursed: "Which apprentice made the rifling? This piece of crap can make the bullet go in a straight line?"
Click, click, Nan Yi reassembled the gun and put it back into the gun box. He didn't dare to fire this broken gun, as the bullet might fly backwards.
Picking up the water cup on the table and taking a sip of water, Nan Yi thought to himself, "The skills of the newspaper reporters have improved again, and they are one step closer to the realm of 'starting with a picture and making up all the content'. From now on, it will be more and more difficult to obtain accurate information. It seems that we have to make a deal with News Corporation to establish a stable and accurate public information source channel."
Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Priyanka walking towards him with an expression as if she had seen a ghost.
"If you encounter any unhappy things, tell me about it and it will make me happy." Nan Yi said when Priyanka walked to his side.
"I don't want to talk about it." Priyanka put on a deadpan face and said, "My parents asked me to tell you that they will be waiting for you at home."
"I will definitely visit you on time." Nan Yi nodded and said affirmatively: "Tell me, what happened?"
Priyanka struggled for a while before she said, "I was shopping at CitiMall just now when a man expressed his love to me."
"Wow, it looks like our Miss Priyanka is about to start her second life-and-death love story." Nan Yi whistled and said frivolously, "Is she a high caste this time?"
"Do you think it's possible?" Priyanka stared at Nan Yi with embarrassment and said, "The whole of Mumbai knows about me. Which high-caste person do you think would take the initiative to pursue me?"
"It can't be that they are still Dalits, right? It shouldn't be possible for Dalits to walk into CitiMall?"
"Speaking American English, coming back from abroad," Priyanka said, spitting, "Damn Dalit."
Nan Yi pretended not to hear the word Dalit, and asked with a curious look on his face: "Oh, Mr. NRL, is he asking for a relationship in a tactful way, or is he directly inviting you to his place?"
Priyanka poked countless holes in Nan Yi's body with her eyes, then threw her sari and walked into the manor angrily.
"You little bitch, you are so rude. If you can't reach an agreement with your parents, I will ask you to go back and continue making cow dung cakes."
Time soon came to October 10th, the day when Nan Yi was going to visit Priyanka's home.
Priyanka's villa is near Ashok Park, a prime location in Mumbai, close to the beach and Hindu temples, and quiet in the midst of the hustle and bustle. The villa is not large, covering only about 3,000 square meters, but its value is only slightly lower than that of Peacock Villa.
And this is the current value. In a few years, when the land price in Mumbai goes up, Priyanka's villa will be worth at least three Peacock Villas, and the upper limit is difficult to estimate.
Nan Yi and Divaman got out of the car in front of the villa, and the Sharma couple and Priyanka came to greet them.
Sonu Sharma surpassed his wife and daughter, walked up to Nan Yi, stretched out his right hand and said, "Hello, Mr. Adam, welcome to Sharma Villa."
"Hello, Mr. Sharma."
Sonu does not have strong Indian features. He looks more like a multi-ethnic European with white and white mixed race. He has fair skin, a high nose bridge, black hair with a hint of yellow, sharp eyes, and a strong sense of restraint and superiority engraved in his bones.
This sense of superiority is not expressed through verbal or body language; it is innate and has been accumulated over several generations.
After about 2.5 seconds, Nanyi let go of Sonu's hand, walked to his wife, Saira Sharma, and put his hands together, "Hello, Mrs. Sharma."
Saira wore a sari without complicated patterns, but she looked elegant and graceful, with a hint of maturity and competence. Priyanka was simply a replica of Saira, but in the process of copying, someone got lazy and forgot to copy the accumulation of time and temperament.
If someone pointed a gun at Nan Yi and forced him to choose between Saiyila and Priyanka, he would choose Saiyila without hesitation, and this choice would not change for at least twenty years.
"Hello, Mr. Adam."
Passing Saiyila, Nan Yi came to Priyanka again, stretched out his right hand to her and said with a slightly flattering tone: "Ms. Sharma, long time no see, I miss you very much."
Priyanka rolled her eyes secretly, suppressed her anger, stretched out her right hand and shook hands with Nan Yi, "Hello, Mr. Adam."
Priyanka didn't understand the meaning of Nan Yi's calling her "Ms. Sharma", but Sonu and Sayila did. They looked at each other, with relief and joy on their faces.
"You little girl, you are so stupid." Nan Yi muttered inwardly and withdrew his hand.
"Mr. Adam, please take a seat in the living room."
Sonu seamlessly followed the process and led Nan Yi to the living room. Saiyila and Priyanka followed behind Nan Yi and the other man.
The living room of the villa looks very simple, with glass walls on two sides made of more than six-meter-high glass, which provides good lighting. However, the outside has been specially treated so that sunlight cannot shine directly on the glass.
In the middle of the living room are two three-by-three-meter marble low tables, with a three-layer vessel in the center. The bottom and largest layer is used to raise ornamental fish, the middle layer is filled with various fruits, and the top layer displays the art of flower arrangement.
Next to the east and west sides of the low table are eight single sofas lined up in pairs, and on the north and south sides there is a Western-style double sofa respectively. Judging from the material, it should be red sandalwood.
The floor is made up of irregular geometric blocks of color. The white blocks are interspersed with brown and coffee lines. It is simple, but it enhances the spacious effect of the living room. Playing a suitable light music, sitting in this living room will feel like being in the wilderness under the sky.
Anyone who has decorated a house knows that the seemingly simple decoration style is actually very expensive. Not to mention other things, the glass on the two walls and the floor alone are enough for Nan Yi to pay for a quarter's transportation expenses. It has to be said that Priyanka's family is really rich.
After sitting down in the living room, Saila personally made coffee. I don’t know if it was to express her importance to Nan Yi or because there were not many servants in the villa.
From the time he walked into the living room until now, Nan Yi hadn't seen a single servant. He thought that even if there were servants in the villa, their number would be very limited.
"Mr. Adam, are you still able to cope with the weather in Mumbai?"
Sonu's opening remarks were about the weather, which made everyone who had prepared an Indian style change to a British style.
"The weather in Mumbai is a little too hot for me, so I seldom go out in the afternoon and stay in my room with the air conditioner on."
"Yes, the weather in Mumbai is a little hot, but I have lived here for more than 30 years and have adapted to the weather here. Have you been to the Ajanta Caves? Five years ago, it was included in the World Heritage List."
"Not yet. I plan to wait until the weather gets cooler and then take some time to go around and have a look."
"That's a good idea." Sonu agreed and asked, "Mr. Adam, can you get used to Indian food?"
"Well enough."
"Saila, you and Priyanka go prepare lunch first. Make sure to prepare your best MOMO." Sonu turned to Saila and said.
"Okay." Saiyila responded, and then said to Nan Yi apologetically: "Mr. Adam, Priyanka and I will leave first."
After the two women, Saira and Priyanka, left, the atmosphere in the living room suddenly changed.
Sonu's expression became serious, and he said to Nan Yi calmly: "Mr. Adam, shall we be more direct?"
Nan Yi put away his politeness and said with a smile: "Okay, I like to keep it simple and direct."
"What is your purpose in coming to India?" asked Sonu.
“I am a businessman.”
"Just doing business?"
"Yes, Mr. Sharma, to be frank, I am here just to make money. You don't have to overcomplicate the issue. I don't have any hidden identity.
In 1985, your country began to have problems with its balance of payments. Mr. Sharma should know why this happened. Your country's military expenditure increased sharply in that year, and military expenditure remained high in the following two years;
This year, your country's economy has further deteriorated. By next year or the year after, your country will be in a deep economic crisis. What will the picture look like then?
The government is on the verge of bankruptcy, the central bank refuses new loans, and foreign exchange reserves continue to decline and may be exhausted at any time. However, your country needs to rely on oil from West Asia, gold from South America, technology from the United States, rapeseed oil from Southeast Asia, and so on.
In order to buy goods from the world market, you need the international trade currency, the US dollar, and the only way to earn US dollars is to export enough goods to the international market.
Since the 1960s, your country's exports have basically relied on the Soviet revisionists, and have not developed good trade relations with the United States and Western Europe. In the 1980s, the Soviet revisionist economy began to weaken and was unable to import large quantities of goods from abroad, while your country's exports fell sharply.
Your country's oil mainly comes from Iraq and Kuwait. The situation between the two countries is very tense now. It can be said that sparks are flying everywhere. If only a falls into the oil barrel, boom... your country's oil purchase price will soar.
Also, the one in the Delhi Palace seems to be in a lot of trouble.
Taking all factors into consideration, your country's economy will collapse next year at the earliest and the year after at the longest. What will your country do to save the economy?"
Sonu said coldly: "Loan from the IMF, reduce import tariffs on industrial products, cancel production license restrictions in some industries, open up some industries, and allow foreign investment."
Nan Yi nodded and said, "Mr. Sharma missed one point. In order to quickly revitalize the finances, your country will probably learn from Europe and privatize some state-owned enterprises to private individuals."
"So, Mr. Adam came here to make arrangements in advance, waiting for the Indian economy to collapse so that you can get the most juicy piece of the pie?"
"No, no, no." Nan Yi shook his hand, "The fattest piece will only be eaten by your own people. I am at most a hyena, eating some of the leftovers that you people despise, and sucking a few bites of the bones left by your own people.
Mr. Sharma, I am a person who pays great attention to etiquette. I will always remember my identity as a guest and will never take the initiative.
I want to invest in agriculture in your country, which you people look down upon; I want to invest in the fertilizer industry in your country, which your country needs very much; I am investing in trade here and am ready to change the current situation of the slums.
What I am going to do may not be motivated by consideration for your country, but in fact it can provide certain help for improving your country's economy. From a broad perspective, I am a good friend of the Indian people.
From a practical point of view, I need allies and partners, and Mr. Sharma, you are the partner I need most and the most suitable one.”
Hearing this, Sonu thought about it for a cup of tea.
"What can I get?"
“Not only will Ms. Priyanka get 5% of the Labour Group shares, she will also get back her lost dignity. I believe she will grow into a role model for Indian women;
As for Mr. Sharma, you can get a 20% subscription quota for the Labor Group's shares. Within five years, no matter how much I increase my capital, you only need to increase your capital by 10% in proportion to maintain your shareholding quota from being diluted.
In addition, I have prepared 12% of the shares, which will be given to Mr. Sharma to use. I have only one request - to do business peacefully and I don't want anyone to cause trouble.
Of course, this does not include the so-called evil forces on the streets of Mumbai. In my eyes, they are not a problem. Punishing evil and promoting good and cracking down on evil forces is one of my hobbies in my spare time.
Ah, I went to Varanasi not long ago and signed a feeding agreement with many Gangetic turtles on the banks of the Ganges. I have the obligation to ensure that those sacred animals get enough protein. "
Nan Yi said this, clasping his hands together and making a very pious gesture.
Sonu smiled knowingly. He never took the "evil forces" that Nan Yi mentioned seriously. There were no bodyguards protecting his villa, and no one dared to come and cause trouble.
“Mr. Adam, I heard from Priyanka that you read a lot of newspapers every day?”
"Yes."
"No wonder you know India's national conditions so well. I mean the 12% stake you prepared."
"I like making friends, and I am happy to share good things with my good friends." Nan Yi said, and then changed the subject, "I don't know if Miss Priyanka told you that she suffered a little in Peacock Villa. Those were all deliberately arranged by me."
Sonu nodded, "I heard about it. I would like to thank Mr. Adam for this matter. Priyanka was protected too well by Saira and me. She didn't understand the true meaning of this society, so she made a big mistake and brought herself into the abyss. Now, she has begun to grow up and become mature. I believe she will not go astray again."
"I also believe that Ms. Priyanka will not fall into the same trap twice. Ms. Priyanka is very smart. As long as her thinking becomes mature, she will definitely reach a very high height in the future."
"Mr. Adam, if we want to cooperate, we need to understand each other. You must have known my information, but Mr. Adam, I'm sorry to say that I don't know you."
"Mr. Sharma is right. Partners need to understand each other. If you are able to travel recently, I invite you to visit New York for a few days. There, you will have a full understanding of me."
"New York..." Sonu thought for a while and said, "Two days later, I can spare a week ."
"I'm really sorry, I have to go back to China soon to handle some personal matters, so it's not convenient for me to accompany Mr. Sharma to New York. However, Mr. Sharma doesn't need to change his plan. I will send a plane to pick up Mr. Sharma in two days, and someone will accompany him in New York. If I have enough time, I will rush to New York to meet you."
Even if Nan Yi is convenient, he will find an excuse not to accompany Sonu to New York. When they arrive in New York, it will be Scarlett's time to show off her muscles and make a show of force to scare Sonu so that he will not dare to easily harbor the ambition to swallow up the labor group.
"It's okay, Mr. Adam, you can go and take care of your own business. I've been to New York several times and I won't get lost without someone to accompany me."
For Sonu, without Nan Yi by his side, he has fewer opportunities to respond flexibly. He can understand Nan Yi's strength more thoroughly and look at some issues more objectively.
After the business was settled, Sayila came over and asked the two to go to the dining room for dinner, and the atmosphere became relaxed again.
"Mr. Adam, please try Momo, which is Saila's specialty. It is said that this food was spread from the Tang Dynasty in the East to India. I wonder what it is called in your place?"
After sitting down in the dining room, Sonu moved a food bowl towards Nan Yi.
Nan Yi looked into the bowl and saw a crescent-shaped piece of pasta lying inside. The crescent shape and the folds on it all told him what kind of food it was.
"This is now called dumplings in China. It was first called wontons. In the Tang Dynasty, it was called laowan. This word is not easy to translate into English."
Nan Yi pointed at the dumplings in the bowl and said, "Look at the fillings of MOMO, they are tightly wrapped in the skin. From the perspective of the fillings, isn't it like being in jail? The meaning of Laowan is to put the fillings in jail."
"That's a very vivid metaphor, full of wisdom." Saila praised, "Mr. Adam, please help us rescue the stuffing."
Saiyila said as she used a colander to scoop two MOMOs onto Nan Yi's plate.
Nan Yi picked up the spoon, scooped one into his mouth, and took a bite. A very rich flavor hit his taste buds, the fresh fragrance of vegetables, the aroma of milk, and a hint of masala.
The taste was very good, but apart from the appearance, Nan Yi didn’t find that MOMO had anything to do with dumplings. Even the skin didn’t taste like what dumpling skin should have.
"Mrs. Sharma, the momos you made are delicious. I want to express my apologies first. I cannot guarantee that I can continue to eat elegantly in front of the delicious food."
Saila smiled happily, "Hearing Mr. Adam say that, I feel a sense of accomplishment."
"Rahu, you are so good at pretending!" Priyanka said with contempt in her heart.
During a lunch, Nan Yi ate a lot of MOMO made by Sayila. Compared with other foods on the table, MOMO was more to his taste. Besides, since he had already started bragging, he had to continue bragging even if he had to kneel down.
Of course, from beginning to end, Nan Yi always maintained a gentlemanly manner while eating.
After having lunch and afternoon tea at Sharma's house, Nan Yi said goodbye and left. When he left, Priyanka followed him.
After getting in the car, Nan Yi turned to Priyanka and said, "Let me take you to the office first. Today is not the weekend, you have to go back to work. I'll give you a task. Help me collect information about Gangubai Kotwali."
"Gangubai? The Queen of Bombay from Kamathipura?"
"Yes, that's her."
"What are you collecting information about her for?"